Employment in sustainable tourism - as a % of employment across all six of the growth sectors (c27)

• Sustainable tourism** is one of six sectors used to assess growth in employment in an area.  The six sectors are food and drink, creative industries (including digital), energy, financial and business services, life sciences, and sustainable tourism.
• This indicator reflects the proportion of employment across the six sectors that is due to sustainable tourism. 

**Sustainable tourism relates to hotels and similar accommodation, holiday and other short-stay accommodation, camping grounds, and recreational vehicle parks and trailer parks. It includes restaurants and mobile food service activities, beverage serving activities, tour operator activities, other reservation service and related activities.  It also includes museum activities, operation of historical sites and buildings and similar visitor attractions, botanical and zoological gardens and nature reserve activities, operation of sports facilities, other sports activities (not including activities of racehorse owners), as well as activities of amusement parks and theme parks, and other amusement and recreation activities.

Why this matters

• Tracking employment and activity within sustainable tourism is essential to understanding whether the sector is genuinely contributing to long‑term economic growth, rather than simply increasing visitor numbers or generating short‑term spending. By measuring the quality, stability, and accessibility of tourism jobs, an assessment can be made of whether the benefits of the sector are reaching local people and supporting a resilient, inclusive economy.
• Understanding where the benefits of tourism employment are having an impact -  and where gaps remain - helps to target policy, investment, and workforce development accordingly.

Latest performance

Figure 27a reflects employment in North Lanarkshire in each of the six growth sectors. This shows that employment in sustainable tourism has remained the second highest growth sector in North Lanarkshire over the reported data and performance has remained relatively stable.

As shown in Figure 27b, employment in sustainable tourism sector in North Lanarkshire as a proportion of employment in all six sectors combined has also remained at a relatively steady level in recent years and the trend has generally followed the national average.

• Figures for the latest growth rate in North Lanarkshire (Figure 27b) show a positive increase of 29% from the previous year (similar to an increase of 29.4% the previous year).
• Having performed above the national average previously, this is now lower that the latest national average (31.9%).
• The latest results represent an increase from The Plan for North Lanarkshire baseline (25.2% in 2017).

The latest results for North Lanarkshire show a positive improving position that is similar to both the national average and comparative average for the group of similar councils, albeit North Lanarkshire’s position has shown a more stable picture in recent years. 

Figure 27b shows that at 29% North Lanarkshire is performing slightly above the comparative average for the group of similar councils (28.6%).

Employment in sustainable tourism remains high in North Lanarkshire due to a strategy that grows the tourism offer, promotes local attractions, and supports businesses. This co-ordinated approach sustains visitor numbers and underpins jobs across accommodation and hospitality.

Financial and business services have long been a major growth sector, but employment has declined as automation, digitalisation, and sector consolidation reduce the need for traditional roles and shift specialised jobs to larger cities. Remote working and outsourcing have further lowered demand for locally based positions, contributing to the drop in employment in this sector.

Impact of delivering The Plan for North Lanarkshire

Increasing the share of employment in sustainable tourism is crucial to ensuring tourism growth genuinely benefits local people. It supports the development of fair, secure, good‑quality jobs, broadens access to opportunities, and strengthens community resilience.